from bellingham to baker
The Wake and Bakery in Glacier is in it's 6th season
I dropped by the Wake and Bakery one afternoon after skiing and had a chat with Rebecca, one of the owners. In the background Janis Joplin was jamming about a Mercedes Benz and a steady stream of people came and went, getting their coffee and pastry fix... I sadly watched as the last of the blueberry coffee cakes were sold.
Mt. Baker Ski Area
This is the official Mt. Baker Ski Area web site.
heather meadows
Current Mt. Baker Ski Area snow and related weather measurements.
East542.com is a portal to the community of Highway 542. We're on a mission to gather as much information - history, stories, trivia, legends - related to East 542 as we can. From Bellingham to Mt. Baker, our plan is to cover it all. Let us know if you have a story for us or want to have your business in the directory.
by Scot Ranney, 2/11/11
This weekend, Feb 11, 12, and 13, is the weekend of the Legendary Banked Slalom snowboard race at Mt. Baker Ski Area. You know how some movies are called "cult classics"? That's what this race is to snowboarding.
Mt. Baker Ski Area is the perfect spot for a race like this. Not only is Mt. Baker the birthplace of snowboarding*, the natural half-pipe from the top of Chair 5 creates a perfectly banked race course that runs down to within sight of the White Salmon lodge. The course includes gates, obstacles, and other terrain features, some of them pretty exciting to watch.
The design of the race course is dependent on the snow conditions the week before. A few years ago there was a corkscrew for the racers to navigate through (with a rather wide variety of results...)
The Legendary Banked Slalom is a part of snowboarding history and contestants have ranged from local mountain rats to olympic athletes. Past winners include names such as Tom Sims, Craig Kelly, Terje Haakonsen, Lucas DeBari, and last year's winner, Temple Cummins (who has won multiple times).
The Legendary Banked Slalom weekend culminates after lifts close on Sunday in a bonfire party/awards celebration with music, beer, bbq salmon, dancing, and a general atmosphere of post-race jubilance.
The Banked Slalom weekend at Mt. Baker is a lot of fun and can be exciting if you hang out and watch the racers. If you want to experience what Mt. Baker Ski Area is like during a festival atmosphere, come on up because this is the place to be.
Check the Mt. Baker Ski Area website for more information.
photo by Tyler Mitchell (yes, it's a level photo)
*Some will argue that Mammoth or a place in Vermont is the birthplace of snowboarding, but as I live here, I will support the Mt. Baker theory.
Click Here for Bellingham Traverse results